At the Heart of Leadership: Humility

One aspect of humility is the self-effacing attribute of creating space for others around you to have a voice and to be honored by their leadership for progress and contributions. Humility in a leader opens the door to a greater sense of belonging, ownership and contribution. People are attracted to organizations that model humble leadership … and they are more likely to not job hop. John Maxwell, in an audio recording by Success magazine, said: behind every leader’s success is a lot of people behind them.

Humility does not mean that a leader lacks vision, strategy and process for his or her organization; without engagement ( a committed behind them ), however, the playbook is just a set of documents without an openness of accepting others' passion for contribution and achievement.

Recently, Fast Company profiled innovative companies. One of the leaders interviewed was Cher Wang, Chairman of HTC, the Taiwanese Google-phone maker.

Fast Company: What’s coming next?

Cher Wang: Every day, we’re trying to find something new. We have labs that our employees can use to work on their own ideas, to brainstorm with a group, to test things.

Fast Company: How does HTC’s ad slogan Quietly brilliant, reflect on the company’s culture?

Cher Wang: Above all else, we believe in the importance of integrity – not only integrity to our customers but also integrity in how we treat our employees. We also believe in humility – admitting our own faults so that we can change them. That humility, I think, is HTC’s culture.

Humility is permission for the behind them to voice ideas, innovations and opinions … and to be a real part of an organization’s success. Then with the critical element of integrity, the organization moves into a realm that goes way beyond pushing to make people feel important.

A Heartfelt Solution to Express Appreciation!

When Thomas Buergenthal was invited to speak to the world Affairs Council of Houston last year, the principals of the event were eager to create a memento of appreciation that would be treasured by him.

For Alan R. Crain, a World Affairs Council Director and also the moderator of the Buergenthal interview, it was important to him that the token of tribute be fitting to the life and stature of Tom. The key to a meaningful tribute is partially the physical token, but more importantly, it has to do with the research and thought given to the significance to the honoree by the presenter. In this case, Alan had done his due diligence on Tom and had acquired the main component … a die-cast model car prior to contacting us to assist with the completion of the design and assembly.

You see, Thomas Buergenthal was a Holocaust survivor as a youth ... and later reunited with his mother who survived as well. When Tom was a young boy he had a red toy pedal car – a most prized possession that had to be abandoned as the family fled their country and home from the encroaching sanctions and persecutions. Alan knew that story having read Buergenthal’s book A Lucky Child.

Today Tom is the American judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Who better to be a judge on the World Court?

Following his World Affairs Council discussion moderated by Alan, he was presented with this look-alike model car with an inscription noting the occasion. Today, the model car is no doubt displayed somewhere in a prominent place where conversations with curious friends and visitors allow him to relive his boyhood story … and that evening in Houston anchored by the memory of a thoughtful tribute.

The underlying story here is about the impact of a thoughtful tribute … for any achievement or occasion. To me, the art of tribute comes from the heart which is then translated into a physical symbol that has significance to the deserving recipient.

The underlying story here is about the impact of a thoughtful tribute … for any achievement or occasion. To me, the art of tribute comes from the heart which is then translated into a physical symbol that has significance to the deserving recipient.

The Art of Tribute: A Love Story

There are always two perspectives in any bestowing of tribute. One is from the perspective of the “bestoweee” … and the other from the “bestower”. My friend Dennis Welch decided, years ago, that his mother Patsy had the makings of the central character in a real life family drama. So he began a year-long research project that consisted of weekly Saturday morning interviews with her. Now those interviews have been documented in a wonderful book titled Rich People Shop Here.

The title belongs to the book’s signature story of Patsy’s parking lot speech to Dennis and his two brothers as they noticed that they were about to shop for school clothes at a local resale store.

There are always two perspectives … whether a family or business tribute. For Dennis the decision was that it was deserved and that there were stories and life lessons worth sharing. As the beneficiary of a principled life, he was inspired to honor her legacy in a special way. For Patsy, the tribute was equal to a lifetime achievement award … it went way beyond an off-the-shelf “thank you” or two-sentence note in a Mother’s Day card! Meaningful tributes come only from the heart. And a deepened love and endearment follows such an act of gratitude … in any work or life setting.

Just imagine if we, as business owners and leaders, were more cognizant of the two perspectives and the lasting mutual respect and love between the “bestower” and “bestowee”. Here are three things that Dennis learned from the commitment:

1. True friendship and unconditional love are transformational.
2. There is power in forgiveness and forgiveness is a choice we make.
3. A sense of humor is vital to surviving tough times.

Dennis, congratulations on your achievement and thank you for sharing so eloquently and thoughtfully the “Patsy” stories. I speak from the perspective of knowing … you have to read it to believe it! Thank you Dennis and Patsy. To read it … www.richpeopleshophere.com .